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In:COVID-19: Metaphor and metonymy across languages and cultures
Edited by Xu Wen, Wei-lun Lu, Joe Lennon and Zoltán Kövecses
[Metaphor in Language, Cognition, and Communication 11] 2025
► pp. 216–246

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Chapter 9
The role of state rhetoric in the conceptualization of the COVID-19 pandemic

Ukraine vs. Belarus

 | Tomas Bata University in Zlín
 | National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”
Published online: 6 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/milcc.11.09shu
Abstract
This chapter analyzes metaphoric projections traced in official state rhetoric used to set out the agenda for dealing with COVID-19 in Ukraine and Belarus as mediated through state-owned media news reports from 12 March through 1 June 2020. Whether or not these countries adopted quarantine measures in the fight against the social and health implications of the pandemic influenced the rhetoric and the choice of deliberate metaphors used by the authorities and/or experts in relation to the situation. We examined and compared metaphoric mappings onto the domains COVID-19/coronavirus and country for both countries, quarantine for Ukraine, and president for Belarus. The results demonstrate that the COVID-19 agenda was used in Belarus for the legitimization and strengthening of power of the president, while in Ukraine it was aimed at justifying unpopular measures taken by the government and the president which were largely opposed by the population. Additionally, for Belarus, the agenda served to set up an Us/Them opposition to portray the state policy to its best advantage.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Metaphors in political discourse and persuasion
  • Ukraine and Belarus: Reporting the pandemic
    • COVID-19 timeline in Ukraine
    • COVID-19 timeline in Belarus
    • Overview of Suspil’ne coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Overview of ONT coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Method
  • Metaphorics in Ukrainian official rhetoric
    • Target domain COVID-19/coronavirus
    • Target domain quarantine
    • Target domain Ukraine in the times of COVID-19
  • Metaphorics in Belarussian official rhetoric
    • Target domain COVID-19/coronavirus
    • Target domain president
    • Target domain belarus in the times of COVID-19
  • Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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